The Simple Things in Life
by pirateANDelf
Summary: Switzerland reflecting on his life and how this one man has never left it. How this one man has seeded himself in Vash's very core. How this one man will always be in his heart...and realizing how that isn't so bad. How that makes him happy now. (In honor of Austria's birthday.)


The Simple Things in Life

Rated K+

A/N: This is not actually mine but was written as a gift from my girlfriend. She decided she wanted me to post it for everyone on my account. It was written with our Austria and Switzerland muses in mind with the whole having children (adopting) and being partners. It is heavily based on Switzerland's thoughts though during their actually historical past. Hope you all enjoy.

/

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm not normally the type of person who would keep a diary. The only reason why I kept you so long ago is because I was so lonely. I think I got too used to being alone. To an extent, I even craved the feeling. Well, anyway. There's a lot that you and I need to catch up on. I think I'll start by telling you that I've realized I'm no longer alone. And that I've never truly been alone. I've had someone there with me the whole time.  
You'll never guess who that someone is..._

If Vash had been offered the opportunity to gaze into a crystal ball a mere decade ago, he would've been shocked into a coma by what his future would look like. The fortune-teller would also have joined him in a coma but due to the horrors of an enraged Swiss man. The future was something that Vash saw as a lie. It was merely a tool to help you make better decisions in the present. Vash had always lived in the present until recently. There was simply nothing good enough in the present that deserved a future.

In his life, Vash had only two people that were key in his mind: Roderich, his irritating neighbor, and Lilli, his endearing younger sister. The first, he didn't particularly care for due to his aristocratic nature. The second, he would've sacrificed anything for. Complete opposites. The difference between the two made a model of what was right and what was wrong in a person; Roderich obviously being the wrong. The concept of learning who a person really was rested on nothing but a few personality quirks in Vash's eyes and Roderich was nothing but quirks. Needless to say, Vash had no interest in people who shared similar traits with his annoying neighbor to the East.

Simplicity in life and hard work went hand in hand in Vash's eyes. There needed to be a perfect balance of both in order for him to be close to his own personal nirvana. The ideal perfect day would be a day spent chopping wood in preparation for winter and retiring to the house at the signal of sunset. From there he would relax in the house with a warm cup of hot chocolate, staying up late with his sister and listening to her speak of the good things in life. Lilli had always seen life only for its peace and good, a side that didn't always show itself in the past. Sometimes Vash would become envious of his sister for her positive outlook on life. Other times he wished she would learn the harsh realities so she could be prepared for life. But who was he to take away the warmth in his sister's eyes? He simply could not do it. Instead, he would be there as much as he could to protect her.

While Lilli looked at life in bright light, Roderich looked at life from the dark. Nothing was ever good enough for him. Nothing would ever match up to his character. Life was like a prison to him. If he couldn't have it all then what good was he? Men like that sickened Vash. They never changed so why give them any hope? It was only logical to look to the errors of others to judge what someone would do in similar situations. Roderich was stuck in a world of conquest and kings and Vash wanted no part in that world. Or so he thought...

_"Hey Switz! You'll never guess what Specs did today! He totally married that frog! Can__ you believe how desperate he is?! Ha ha ha! I guess I'm too awesome for him to handle! I'll see those fags in war!"_

No.

_No._

The lives of men and kings had been all around him. One was part of the grand game of chess. The prize: The earth's crust. You were a part of the game no matter what. You were either a pawn or of royalty. Due to his once-former friend, he had become a pawn. Whenever he was threatened to be moved from his place on the board, Vash made it clear what his role in the game was: To be removed from the game. He wanted no part in it. He simply wished to be alone. While he wasn't always so lucky, sometimes the light would shine upon him and grant him his wish for solidarity. In his mind, however, he was watching the players like a hawk; one in particular whom he found watching more than the others. At the time he wouldn't admit it but he was watching in fear that the aforementioned would be knocked out of the game.

_"So what kind of dress do you think Specs will wear? Ha ha ha ha!"_

Vash longed for the day when it would just end; when peace would return to the land.

_**"A dress would ill suit a man who never rose up from the dirt he was born in."**_

_Dear Diary,_

_ I finally got around to that promise of having a picnic with Lilli and the kids. I wish I wasn't working so much. I forgot just how peaceful it is to just sit beside the lake and watch the clouds go by over the reflection of the water.  
Oh, that's right! I have a family now. Two beautiful children and a very irritating yet wonderful partner. I can't tell if they help me keep my sanity or drive me farther away from it. Then again, what family isn't like that? Gilbert will be stopping by later on to take my daughter to football practice. Gilbert has been taking a liking to the sport; something he picked up from Ludwig no doubt. He even became my daughter's coach! He's hard on her but she prefers it that way. It helps her constantly set the bar higher. She's going to go far in life, I just know it. As a parent, I couldn't be more proud.  
I suppose I'm masking up the bad with the good again. I need to stop doing that. My son says that avoiding the truth will only make me more upset it in the end so I guess I'll just say it. The family cat died today. I have no doubt in my mind that our other cat will soon die as well. They're truly like lovebirds in every sense and that's what makes me so sad. I think the children know that it will be that way too. I've buried many animals in my life. Each one always brings the same amount of pain.  
I don't know what I'll do when I have to bury my children..._

Every meeting between the two, unintentional or not, always left Vash more stressed than before the encounter. It always had a bad outcome so he tried his best to ignore the other; to avoid contact. Even after the war, Vash still refused to talk to the man. He was a fool to never notice the look of longing and apology in the eyes of the other. It took many years for Vash to finally see why.

Vash had so strongly established his solidarity that he had glued himself to the chessboard.

While all of the other players had been removed from the game, Vash was the only one left. It was because of this fact that he never looked at his neighbors as anything else but quarreling, empire striven nobility. All he saw in their faces were the errors of their pasts. In terms of error, Roderich was a living mural of graffiti, a walking example that you show your children not to be. Roderich simply was a pimple in Vash's life.

After the war, Roderich had been forced to resign his empire and was used as a footstool for the allied powers. Vash always knew that men changed in desperation but they would always go back if opportunity presented itself. He especially thought so in Roderich's case. In their first talk after the war, Vash was more than shocked when he saw Roderich. Here was a man stripped of his dignity, glared at by the world, and undeniably, _alone. _Vash had expected the first words to come out of Roderich's mouth to be an apology. He was surprised when he heard a "Thank you."

_"Even after all I've put you through in the past you were still there for me. You risked your reputation on my behalf when I deserved worse treatment than what I'm facing today. For that, I thank you."_

It was a conversation that Vash remembered word for word. No, it wasn't even a conversation. A conversation calls for an exchange of words. But in Vash's case, there were no words. There was only silence. He was far too stunned to say anything, or stop Roderich when he turned to leave. The former Austrian Empire had just put himself below Vash, a nation that had hardly come up from the ground. It was then that Vash had removed himself from the game of kings. He was a fool to not realize that it would take the strength of a former king to remove himself from the chessboard.

_ Dear Diary,_

_ It's my ten year anniversary of the marriage with my husband today. I figured I'd surprise him in the morning but, as always, he's sleeping in far past when he should. Normally I'd wake him up by now but since this is a special day I'll let him indulge. In the meantime, I'm going to write to you. I think I've kept you in the dark long enough. Would you like to know who my husband is?_

The thoughts of Roderich wouldn't stop. The dreams were just as persistent and even more confusing. He had once heard that placing a metal bucket on your head and pounding on it produced such a resonance of sound that it was literally impossible to think due to the frequencies bouncing between the metal. If that was the case then Vash proved science wrong. Multiple times. Those words echoed in his mind, the words of gratitude that made Vash go silent and the faint smile on Roderich's lips as he turned and left Vash stiff in his place. That smile almost seemed to come as a result of release. It was like Roderich let go of years of stubbornness in those few moments and felt a calm go over him. Vash wanted to believe that Roderich was just desperate and acting out of shock of his new lifestyle but Roderich seemed to be genuinely happier than before. Sure, he moaned and groaned about not being an empire any longer but he knew that it was for the better. The only time that Roderich seemed to be truly sad was when he would look at Vash.

_**"You kept my diary... Aft**__**er all of these years."**_

_"I was waiting for the day that you might return for it."_

The day that Vash returned for his diary was the day that changed everything for the better.

_My husband is Roderich Edelstein. And I have never been more proud of tha__t fact._


End file.
